51-54 When it came close to the time for his Ascension, he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to Jerusalem. He sent messengers on ahead. They came to a Samaritan village to make arrangements for his hospitality. But when the Samaritans learned that his destination was Jerusalem, they refused hospitality. When the disciples James and John learned of it, they said, “Master, do you want us to call a bolt of lightning down out of the sky and incinerate them?”
55-56 Jesus turned on them: “Of course not!” And they traveled on to another village.
57 On the road someone asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said.
58 Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”
Jesus said to another, “Follow me.”
59 He said, “Certainly, but first excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father’s funeral.”
60 Jesus refused. “First things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God’s kingdom!”
61 Then another said, “I’m ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home.”
62 Jesus said, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.”
Whatever else it means, to follow Jesus, it is a radical departure from what has been to what is yet to be.
It is an all consuming adventure which is full of uncertainty, vulnerability and openness to God’s surprises as they come upon us at the most unexpected moments, in unconventional ways and ask us to be ready to “proclaim the Kingdom of God” in the very essence of our being.
It means being a servant, a steward, a slave. We cannot do it our way - we have to do it His way. We cannot consume one another, we are to serve one another in love.
“True religiousness, in whatever faith, functions not to enslave but to free, not to injure but to heal, not to destabilize but to stabilize.”
True religion lives by grace which sets people free. Free to be who we are. Free to struggle with our purpose in life. Free to choose without fear of reprisal, yet with responsibility for our choices. Free to live knowing that I will always be loved, and also knowing that I have to choose how I am going to use my freedom - as an excuse to indulge in self-gratification at the expense of others; as a license to destroy myself and others; or as an opportunity to love my neighbor as myself, to love as I have been loved! Hans Kung
“True religiousness,
in whatever faith,
functions not to enslave
but to free,
not to injure but to heal,
not to destabilize but to stabilize.”
Hans Kung
Prayer thought for the week: “Lord, help my “religiousness” to be life giving, proclaiming your Kingdom of grace and love for all.
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